Third Tamworth house fire in as many days

A WOMAN was shocked to find her house on fire when she returned from taking her kids to school yesterday morning.

Just before 9am, the front room of her Thompson Cr home, in the city’s south, was well alight with smoke billowing from the windows.

It is believed the woman attempted to save some of her belongings before firefighters arrived.

Two Tamworth fire crews attended and extinguished the flames within minutes, limiting the blaze to the one room. Some of the salvaged contents from the room were strewn across the front yard.

It is understood the house suffered no structural damage and while uninhabitable at the moment, it will be repaired.

The woman suffered minor smoke inhalation and was taken to Tamworth hospital. New England and North West Fire and Rescue NSW duty commander Grant O’Regan said the cause of the fire was not yet known and it was hard to determine its point of origin.

It’s the third house fire in the Tamworth district in the past three days, following the blaze that destroyed a Gunnedah Rd home – about 18km south of the city – on Monday and a small kitchen fire in East Tamworth on Tuesday.

Inspector O’Regan said the East Tamworth fire – believed to have been caused by an electrical fault – also occurred while that home owner was away.

He said some simple precautions could be taken to ensure house fires were not started.

“By not piling stuff on electrical items and making sure they are well-ventilated,” Inspector O’Regan said.